The 17 countries with the best quality of life in the world for expats

LONDON — The countries with the best quality of life in the world have a good work-life balance, access to quality healthcare, education, and infrastructure, as well as cost of living and career opportunities.

Warm weather also helps.

In a new survey by InterNations, the world’s largest network for people who live and work abroad, the company asked 12,500 expats, representing 166 nationalities and living in 188 countries or territories, to rate 43 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of 1 to 7.

From this, InterNations calculated the scores to reach an overall average.

The Quality of Life index took into account factors such as:

Leisure Options;

Personal Happiness;

Travel & Transport;

Health & Well-Being;

Safety & Security.

A destination needed at least 75 respondents to feature in this index. Here are the top 17 countries.

15. New Zealand — New Zealand falls two places from last year, but high scores on the Personal Happiness subindex (10th) and Leisure Options subindex (9th) keep it relatively near the top of the list.

14. Sweden — The Scandinavian country offers expats high wages and a generally high quality of life. It scored highest in the Health & Well-Being subindex (4th), coming one place behind neighbouring Denmark.

10. Germany — Germany, which is currently trying to lure financial workers from London to its Frankfurt hub, scored highly on the Travel & Transport subindex (5th) and Health & Well-Being.

9. Costa Rica — Costa Rica has barely seen any change in expat feedback since 2016, when it ranked fifth. it’s not that survey respondents view local life more negatively, but several other countries simply outperform it in 2017.

Armando Maynez / Wikimedia Commons

8. Switzerland — Switzerland attracts many expats to Zurich, its financial hub. It scores first on the Safety & Security subindex, and third for Travel & Transport.

6. Japan — The country sunk from 3rd to 6th this place this year. Japan lost some ground in all subcategories, although it is still going relatively strong in those that earned it last year's ranking: the Health & Well-Being (7th) and Travel & Transport subcategories (9th). Japan excelled with regard to safety and security too (4th).

Tokyo, JapanShutterstock

5. Czech Republic — The country did particularly well because it scored 4th on the Travel & Transpoort subindex. It ranked comparatively low on other subindexes, including Leisure Options (18th), Personal Happiness (20th).

REUTERS/David W Cerny

4. Singapore — The city-state rose from 8th to 4th this year. It came first on the Travel & Transport subindex, and third for Safety & Security.

2. Taiwan — Last year's winner dropped by one rank, but it still impressed with high ratings in the Health & Well-being and Travel & Transport subcategories, coming 1st and 6th out of 65 respectively.

1. Portugal — Having gained 13 places since the Expat Insider 2016 survey, Portugal is not only the second-biggest winner in the Quality of Life Index, but also made the most significant gains in the overall ranking. Its popularity among expats — at least when it comes to quality of life — is largely due to its temperate climate and widely available leisure activities.